In order to manufacture a single semiconductor device, such as a transistor, a photonic or other device, a semiconductor wafer may be processed to form a plurality of semiconductor devices at component positions in the wafers. Depending on the structure of the semiconductor devices, a plurality of functional layers may be formed on the wafer. The semiconductor wafer may include device regions which include the region of semiconductor material in which the functional units of the device are arranged and a non-device region, also known as a saw street or kerf. The non-device regions may surround each device region and delineate the component positions. Typically, the device regions are formed in a regular array of rows and columns so that the non-device regions have the form of an orthogonal grid. After forming the relevant components of the device, the wafer is separated into single chips or dies, for example by dicing the wafer, for example by sawing. The chips or dies may be separated from the wafer by cutting through the thickness of the wafer along the non-device regions.